You're Not Alone
by spiritlight25
Summary: Danny's been acting strange lately. Phantom believes that he's trying to avoid him and soon enough, the spirit himself realizes why he's so concerned in the first place. Could it be that he's feeling something more than friendship towards Danny? NO SLASH!


Hey there! Now before you read this, there's a few things I want all of you to know. 1) this is a _really_ long one-shot, 2) the song in the story gave me the idea for this fic, 3) this is _NOT_ a slash fic! (For those of you who wanted one, I'm sorry, but I don't write those. Yet as weird as this may seem, I like reading those kinds of stories, but only with Phantom and Danny as the pairing.) Anyway, 4) I only think of Danny and Phantom as brothers when writing these fics myself, 5) there's a reference to 'Phantom Planet' so if you haven't seen it yet, you need to watch it first, 6) this is a really long Author's Note, 7) it's now 1 in the morning, 8) I did my best to get the lyrics typed correctly, so correct me if I got anything wrong, 9) I'm really sorry that this fic is so long, and 10) I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Danny Phantom (Butch Hartman does) or the song _You're Not Alone _(Nick Lachey does)

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_You're Not Alone_

It was Friday, the last day of school before the weekend. The sun was shining brightly throughout the city of Amity Park. Families were beginning to rise from their slumber as they prepared for the day ahead of them.

Down in the Fenton household, Jazz was at the kitchen table reading a book about psychology as usual. She was the first one up, followed by Jack and Maddie soon after. The two ghost hunters were down in the lab. Why they would decide to work on their inventions this early was beyond her.

Jazz looked up from her book to see that her brother wasn't in the kitchen, or downstairs for that matter. She put the book down and made her way to his bedroom. She knocked on the door, only to get a muffled voice in response. She knocked again, a little harder this time.

"Danny! Wake up! You're gonna be late!" After that warning, she went back to the kitchen. She glanced at the clock that hung on the wall. It read 6:25.

_He'd better hurry up,_ she thought as she grabbed her backpack and headed towards the door. "Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!" And with that, she walked out.

* * *

Danny was sound asleep peacefully on the bed. He still hadn't woken up after his sister's call. Even his parents tried to get him to wake up. His mom tried by gently shaking him awake. His dad tried by claiming that there was ghost somewhere in the house so he'd wake up, wary and alarmed. Unfortunately, both their attempts had failed and they left his room.

Roughly a month has passed since the incident with the asteroid and things were back to normal—except for the fact that the whole world now knew Danny's secret and he and Sam are now a couple. Things were still somewhat the same, though.

The clock on the teen's nightstand read 6:49 and he still remained in his little dream world. Not for long…

"Danny," came a voice. "Danny, wake up." The figure shook the boy's shoulder in hopes of getting him up.

Danny felt a slight drop in temperature and curled up into a smaller ball to keep warm and remain in deep slumber. The ghost tried shaking him harder only to get his hand shooed away from his shoulder.

"Not now, Phantom," Danny mumbled.

The spirit frowned in thought and came up with the perfect solution. His pale face adorned a smirk as his gloved hands began to power up with ice-cold energy. Using his tail, he slowly and carefully removed the blanket. Danny didn't even notice the absent blanket.

Phantom's smirk grew as he placed both hands on his human side's bare arms. The freezing touch was enough to force Danny's sky-blue eyes to widen and finally lose the delightful slumber.

"Phantom!" he shouted. He wasn't aware that the blanket was no longer on him as he quickly rolled over the edge of the bed and fell off. Phantom couldn't help himself as he chuckled at the action.

Danny glared at his counterpart. "That's not funny. And was that really necessary?"

Phantom stopped laughing to answer. "In that order: it was to me, and yeah, it was."

Danny began to rub his eyes to keep him awake. "What time is it?" he asked.

The specter in front of him looked at the digital clock and back. "6:53."

"WHAT?!" Danny looked at the clock to see that it was true. He raced to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Phantom rolled his eyes. _He forgot his clothes again,_ he thought as he grabbed the teen's usual clothes, phased his hands through the door and gave the clothes to Danny.

As Phantom waited for Danny to change, he pondered about what has been happening recently. A couple weeks had passed since Danny decided to split himself again. He felt that he just needed a break is all. His friends and family understood perfectly well to the decision and didn't hesitate at all. He thought that while he was trying to catch up on sleep and his schoolwork, Phantom could take care of the ghouls that resumed to invading the town, just for a little while. Fortunately, the whole personality thing had improved tremendously well since the separation. Danny wasn't too laid back and Phantom wasn't overly heroic either. They each shared the same personality trait as the other. Kinda like how identical twins would share the same telepathy. And that was how Danny and Phantom were. They were like twins.

Phantom sighed at the thought. _Is that even possible?_

He looked at a picture that rested on the nightstand and picked it up. It was a picture of him and Danny standing side by side. In it, Phantom had his arms folded across his chest while Danny had his left hand in his jeans pocket and his right hand resting on the spirit's shoulder. They were both smiling and standing in front of the Fenton Ghost Portal and the Ghost Catcher was next them. The picture was taken the same day they separated. If you were looking at the photo yourself, you could tell that the two were enjoying each other's company just by looking at their facial expressions. Phantom smiled as he placed the photo back in its proper position and glanced at the clock. It now read 7:08.

He floated over to the bathroom door and knocked. "Danny, are you almost done?"

"Yeah, just give me a sec!" The door finally unlocked and Danny now stood in the doorway in his usual clothes. "What time is it now?" he asked.

"7:08."

Without hesitation, Danny ran out of the room and straight down to the kitchen. A bowl and spoon sat on the table, waiting for him. He grabbed a box of cereal and a carton of milk and poured their contents into the bowl. Phantom phased into the room with Danny's backpack in hand. He stared at his counterpart who was rapidly eating his cereal. The boy noticed that he was staring at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Danny simply shrugged and continued to eat his breakfast while repeatedly glancing at the clock. Time just wasn't on his side this morning. Then again, has it ever?

Phantom just kept on looking at the teen before him. "Uh… don't you think you should slow down?"

"Yeah, whatever." The boy didn't catch a single word his other half had said. He didn't even look up to see the spirit's slightly shocked expression.

_Weird,_ Phantom thought._ He never answers to me like that._ He watched as Danny finished breakfast, took his backpack and headed to the front door. That was when he flew in front of him, blocking the door.

"Danny, wait." Phantom tried his best to stay calm. "Why don't you… let me, uh… fly you to school today?"

Danny was a little surprised by the request. He never let Phantom fly him anywhere for obvious reasons. He glanced at his wristwatch; 7:15. _At least with him flying me to school, I won't be late again,_ he thought.

"Sure." Right after his response, Phantom took his other half by the arms and flew them through the roof and to the school.

* * *

The sun shone brightly in the early morning as Phantom and Danny flew through the light-blue sky. However, something wasn't quite right. Not a single word was spoken between the two as they flew. They didn't even make eye contact with one another at all.

_I wonder what's on his mind,_ the spirit thought as he glanced down at Danny for a moment.

_Nothing, so stop worrying._ The ghost boy's eyes widened at the sudden statement. He then realized about the little link that they share.

_I'm not worried. I'm just… yeah, I guess you could say that I'm worried._

_Well, don't be, okay? _

_Fine._

Once they had separated, the two halves shared a mental link. It was easier to communicate mentally sometimes instead of having to speak audibly. Plus, it was pretty darn amusing to eavesdrop on the other's thoughts.

Silence resurfaced again. The school was now in clear view and Phantom began to descend towards the soft grass and behind a tree. Danny was about to meet Sam and Tucker by the school's main entrance when the spirit's voice stopped him.

"Danny, remember: I put a Fenton Thermos in your backpack just in case a ghost shows up."

Danny didn't hear him as he ran off to the doors.

"I'll see you…" The sound of the bell cut Phantom off. Everyone walked into the school in a quick manner. Within minutes, the campus was empty.

"…later." The specter finished solemnly. He turned and flew back home.

* * *

Phantom sighed as he stared at the picture of him and Danny that he was holding. When they had separated, they had been the best of friends. But thanks to ghost hunting, they slowly began to drift apart; and that happened only in a matter of days.

Whenever the young spirit tried to reconnect, Danny would just refuse by stating that he was "too busy right now " or something along the lines of that. At first, the specter just nodded in response and go out on patrol for a little while. But now, he wasn't falling for it. He was beginning to worry about his counterpart and he felt that the teen was pushing him away. They haven't spoke much to each other lately. A few moments of small talk doesn't seem to count as much as an actual conversation. Was Danny trying to avoid him? If so, what for?

Phantom couldn't quite figure out why the boy was doing this but it still rendered him more concerned by the day. As he resumed staring at the photo, he began to reminisce about the times when they were close.

A smile shined on the ghost's face on the remembrance of the day of the separation. From that day on, the two hung out together and goofed around. Danny would help Phantom with his training and go on patrol with him. It seemed like a non-stop habit to the boy. Sadly, it all stopped.

Aside from that, they still spent some time together. Whenever Danny needed help on his homework, Phantom would give him a hand faster than you could say "Going ghost." Unfortunately, that didn't last long either.

Another sigh escaped from the spirit. All those times they had shared were somewhat special to the young ghost. Phantom then shook his head at a sudden thought. _No way. There's no way that I could possibly feel that way towards him… Right?_

He bit his lower lip in thought but immediately dismissed the idea. He and Danny were friends. Just friends. Nothing more and nothing less.

But if that's true, then why was he a little nervous when he asked to fly the boy to school that morning? Why was he feeling so strange for the past few days?

A frown emerged and replaced the smile that adorned his face. He never felt something like this before. As he glanced once more at the picture, Phantom's mind had recalled to what had happened a week ago.

* * *

_Flashback:_

Phantom was in the living room as he flew around for fun. He didn't feel like doing much and he already patrolled the town. All the ghosts were put back in the Ghost Zone where they belonged and right now, he was getting bored while waiting for his counterpart.

Just as he was about to go back upstairs, the door finally opened. Phantom turned around to see that it was the person he was expecting and he flew up to the boy.

"Hey, Danny."

Danny, however, ignored the greeting and walked past the phantom before him. The specter took in a mental picture of the human's awful appearance. His tidy, black hair became unkempt and his lucid, crystal-blue eyes had turned into a dull shade of ocean-blue: both were the results in a slight lack of sleep. And as for his now slightly pale skin, Phantom could only guess it was due to the teenager skipping at least a meal a day.

He continued his way towards the stairs, not even taking at least three seconds to answer the ghost boy.

The spirit tried again. "Hi."

No response again. Well, you know what they say: Third time's the charm.

"Hello."

"Huh? Oh. Hey, Phantom," Danny finally answered. His voice wasn't filled with its usual cheerfulness either.

Phantom followed him asking, "How was school?" The ghost didn't need to go to school, but sometimes he would pop by during lunch once in a little while to see how things are going. Occasionally, he'd find himself in one of the classrooms and take a quick peek at the board, the information that was scribbled there sinking in.

Danny kept on walking. "Fine." That was the only answer he gave and was giving recently towards the spook.

Phantom frowned. _That's it? That's all he's gonna say? I'm sure he can give me more of an answer than that._

"I don't feel like talking much," said the tired-looking teen, clearly reading the phantom's thoughts. "I… got a lot of homework to do." He began to quicken his pace a little.

A pair of bright-green eyes suddenly appeared in front of Danny. "I don't think you really do," the phantom replied.

_How did he -?_

"You're not the only one who can read thoughts, Danny."

_Dang it! I forgot about that. _He glanced at his ghost half who was floating in front of him, then shook his head and sighed. "I just… want to be by myself for a bit."

He walked past Phantom and resumed towards his room, increasing his pace a bit further. He would've made it all the way if that echoed voice hadn't stopped him once more.

"Danny, is there… something wrong?" His tone had turned from casual to concerned. He saw the boy simply standing near the bedroom door, his back to him.

"No." _Why doesn't he just leave me alone?_ Danny opened the door and was about to walk into his room when he felt a cold hand wrap itself around his arm.

"I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me what's really bothering you."

"There's nothing… wrong with me. Now… leave me …alone," said Danny as he tried to pull himself free from the grasp.

Phantom only gripped tighter. "Danny, please… You haven't been sleeping much and you're slightly pale. We barely communicate with each other… even with that mental link we have. If there's something bothering you, I -"

"I told you that there… is nothing… wrong… with… me! So, let… me go… and leave… me… ALONE!!"

Phantom gasped as he loosened his grip on the teen's arm. Taking this as his chance, Danny shoved the spirit off him and ran into his room.

The young ghost was above all shocked as he let himself fall from the surprise shove he received. Danny's voice had gone from a gentle and tired tone to an angry and irritable one. He had never gotten_ that_ upset with anyone before and Phantom was no exception. An ominous silence now swept between them.

After what seemed like an eternity, he looked up at his human counterpart. Luminous, green orbs were wide in absolute shock. His mouth went dry as he searched for something to say.

The boy in front of him did not turn around. He didn't turn to apologize for his sudden actions or outburst. He just stood in the middle of his room, a mix of emotions stirring inside him. He didn't feel like speaking to his phantom side.

The stunned specter finally got up and slowly made his way to the room.

"Go away."

"But… I just -"

"I said go away." Time seemed to have traveled fast for the bedroom door was now a wooden barrier between the two halves.

Phantom could now only stare at the door that was shut right in front of his face.

_End Flashback.

* * *

_

A tear made itself visible as it cascaded down Phantom's cheek and onto the picture. To this day, he still remembered the tension between them.

"Danny, why won't you tell me what's wrong?" the ghost asked the inanimate object in his hands.

As he wiped away another stray tear, he set the photo on the bed and walked over to the closet. Inside was a sky-blue guitar. Phantom picked it up and looked it over. Its color reminded him so much of the teenager's eyes.

At that moment, something clicked in Phantom's mind. The musical instrument wasn't the only thing that reminded him of the boy. Whenever his ghost sense went off, he remembered him saying his well-known battle cry. When he was with Sam or Tuck, they would usually talk about Danny and their concern for him. However, when the spirit himself was near Danny or talking about him, he was usually at a loss for words. His mouth would end up dry, and his mind would scream for him to get out while he still has a chance. The specter would even blush at the sound of Danny's name.

Phantom couldn't help but laugh a little, but it soon died away as quickly as it had come. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the teen out of his mind, especially after what had happened that day. His concern for him had augmented greatly and he couldn't help himself any longer. He looked back at the instrument in his hands and sighed. _If you weren't trying to avoid me, I would probably be able to tell you how I really feel…_

He turned intangible and flew down to the lab, photograph and guitar in hand.

* * *

Danny walked into the living room. He looked around to find that no one was there.

"Hello!" he called out. He suddenly stopped when he heard a sound coming from the lab. _Was that a guitar?_

He didn't hesitate upon heading down to the lab as the sound had him under its spell. When he made it to the bottom, he was more than surprised to see the spirit, whom he was trying to avoid, sitting on the floor. But he couldn't get himself to move like his mind had wanted him to. Instead, he just stood there and listened to the music that was being played. The music was then accompanied by Phantom's singing.

_Are you there?_

_Are you gone?_

_Do you care?_

_Is anybody home?_

'_Cause something's lost in your eyes._

_Are you blind?_

_You're caught up in the lies._

_Yeah._

_Who you gonna call when they're comin' after you?_

_Yeah._

_Where you gonna crawl when your fantasy is through?_

_Tell me,_

_Do you really know me?_

_Do you really see me?_

_When you forget, you're fighting on your own._

_You are not alone._

_When your sky is falling, when your pain is calling,_

_Don't forget,_

_I will take you home._

_You are not alone._

Danny, very cautiously, took a few steps forward. He tried his best to listen carefully to the lyrics that were being sung from Phantom.

_When you crash,_

_When you burn._

_Are you scared?_

_Will you ever learn?_

'_Cause there's a price that you pay._

_You realize tomorrow's another day_

_Yeah._

_Who you gonna call when they're comin' after you?_

_Yeah._

_Where you gonna crawl when your fantasy is through?_

_Baby._

_Do you really know me?_

_Do you really see me?_

_When you forget, you're fighting on your own._

_You are not alone._

_When your sky is falling, when your pain is calling,_

_Don't forget,_

_I will take you home._

_You are not alone._

_You're not fighting on your own._

As he continued playing, Phantom let the music flow from his guitar. His voice began to grow stronger with each note he sang.

_On the day the darkness comes,_

_I'll find you, save you, baby._

_Tell me,_

_Do you really know me?_

_Do you really see me?_

_When you forget, you're fighting on your own._

_But, you are not alone._

_And when your sky is falling, when your pain is calling_

_Don't forget that I will take you home_

'_Cause you are not alone._

_Well, you're fighting on your own._

_But, you are not alone._

_And when your sky is falling, _

_And when your pain is calling,_

_Don't forget that I will take you home._

_You are not alone._

Phantom strummed the last chord, finishing the song. Danny was awestruck at his musical skills. He knew that the spirit could sing and play guitar, but he never really heard him do both, until now.

"Wow. That was really good," he said.

Phantom gasped at the sound of his voice. He hadn't expected anyone to hear him. His pale face turned to a bright shade of red as he just sat there.

Danny continued. "Uh, Phantom? Remember when you said that you were worried and wanted to help me?"

"Uh-huh. I still do, even though that was a week ago." The spook remained in his spot.

"And when you asked me if there was anything wrong and I said no?"

"Yeah."

"I… I lied."

Phantom turned his head in disbelief. "Huh?" At this point, he was now confused to where this was going.

_Guess I better explain,_ thought Danny.

"Yeah, an explanation would be nice," Phantom commented.

_Darn! I wish he would stop doing that._

"For starters, I was exhausted that day and I didn't know what I was saying. And… the reason for my lack of sleep and appetite was because… I… I was thinking about…" He let himself trail off.

The green-eyed ghost set his guitar down and motioned for the shy freshman to sit beside him. Danny couldn't help but oblige. He sat down next to his ghost half, but didn't look at him.

Phantom was etched with worry. He placed a gloved hand on the teenager's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"About what?" The tone in his voice pleaded for him to continue.

Danny let out a sigh as he noticed the picture resting next to Phantom's guitar. "About… you."

Phantom stared at him in surprise. "W-what?" he stuttered as his face turned slightly red again.

"That's why I was acting that way and trying to avoid you. I was thinking about you all this time whether I was eating or trying to sleep. Plus, I was afraid of how you'd react to what I'm about to say."

Danny looked up and stared into the spirit's peridot orbs. "Phantom, I…" _How do I put this?_ "I…" _Well, here it goes. _"I… think of you as… more… than a friend. I…" He couldn't get himself to finish. The ghost boy couldn't take this anymore. He placed both hands on his human half's shoulders.

"Go on," the spirit encouraged. "Just tell me. I won't judge you, Danny."

The teen breathed deeply to calm his senses. He looked at him again. Tired, crystal-blue eyes met with concerned, neon-green ones.

Feeling even more exhausted, Danny scooted closer so he wouldn't wind up falling asleep on the floor. He didn't realize that he was a whole lot closer to his other half who was surprised by what he was doing. He didn't even realize that his head was resting on the ghost's chest.

He let out a soft yawn before resuming. "I thought of you as… a brother to me."

"Really?" He felt the boy nod his head. "I felt… the same way about you, too. I wanted to tell you, but you kept on driving me away. And, I didn't even know how to tell you how I felt."

The boy smiled. "That's okay. Oh, and Phantom? I'm really sorry about what happened a week ago."

"Don't worry. Apology accepted."

A curious thought formed in Danny's mind. "By the way, when'd you learn to play that song on the guitar?"

Phantom chuckled. "Oh, that. Well, a few days ago, actually. While you were at school, I was listening to the radio and the song just came up. I figured that it sort of related to what was going on between the two of us. Then, I looked up the music and started practicing."

Before he could continue though, Phantom felt a slight pressure on his chest. He looked down to notice that Danny was close to falling asleep. Danny glanced upward to see a gentle smile shine on his other half's face.

Right before he went off to his little dream world once more, he said one last thing that they both wanted to say. "I love you, Phantom." And with that, he fell asleep.

Phantom's smile grew as he gazed at the sleeping form in his arms. He slowly stood up and turned intangible as he carried Danny in a bridal-like fashion, then flew out of the lab and into his bedroom.

The spirit gently placed the peacefully sleeping teenager on the bed and wrapped him in the blanket. He then smiled down at him as he gently ruffled his soft, black hair.

"I love you, too, Danny," the phantom whispered.

End.

* * *

Hope you liked it! Now, I'm gonna go get some sleep myself. Bonne nuit! (Goodnight!)


End file.
